Cumming to America

Actor/author/activist/entrepreneur Alan Cumming is taking his show, Legal Immigrant, on the road for the month of July, with performances in the Hamptons, Chicago, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

“We’re so used to hearing the term ‘illegal immigrant’ these days,” says Cumming, explaining the title of his latest solo act. “I’ve admired America my whole life. I’ve had great opportunities here and I was very proud to become a U.S. citizen in 2008. I’m a legal immigrant and proud of it.”

“When the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services’ changed its mission statement this year to remove the phrase ‘a nation of immigrants,’ it just made me furious. I find it to be a terribly menacing thing, the way the government is dealing with refugees and people who want to move to the United States from abroad.The United States is a nation of immigrants and I think we should remind ourselves of the contributions that immigrants have made.”

To that end, Cumming pays tribute in his concert: “I make a point of taking time to talking about the songs’ provenance, to show that the lyricists and composers who make the music Americans love have come from all over the world.”

Audiences can anticipate an eclectic set list, ranging from songs made famous by Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich to more recent work by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

But don’t expect anything from Cumming’s Tony-winning role as the Emcee in Cabaret. Weimar, Germany strikes a little too close to home these days.